Wednesday, January 14, 2009

I think I may have discovered the secret to more frequent blogging. Post something you can't stand to look at, so you're forced to post more just to force that image off the screen!

The image above is a wrap-around cover I did a while back for a manga adaptation of a novel called Chasing the Dragon. Published by Houder & Stouton UK, The story is the first-hand the account of author Jackie Pullinger's misadventures in the massive lawless slum Kowloon walled City, or KWC as it is affectionately known to it's many admirers. No joke, I'm one of them. How could I say no to this gig?

Inhabiting a block the size of the Tokyo Dome, Kowloon Walled City resembed a
living, breathing creature, born from its inhabitants over its long lifespan.
But the walled city was more than a physical conglomeration of buildings and
people, it was an inadvertent symbol of the long struggle between China and Hong
Kong, ruled by neither. It was an "in-between zone" whose remarkable existence
today can best be comprehended through images, statistics and interviews. These
pages give a brief overview of Kowloon Walled City (KWC) in historical,
personal, architectural and political terms.

Sadly KWC was finally demolished in 1993, but not before getting immortalized as a set piece in Bloodsport (!).

Monday, January 12, 2009

Welcome my friends to the first of many studio sketch-offs. Yes that's right, after a hiatus of almost two years, we're back in action. We're going to try to keep them up every Monday, as a way to keep sharp, get the work week rolling right, and to offer a momentary escape from our various obligations.

Being a child of the 80's, Flash to me will always be a flaxen haired Sam Jones, in tight, tight pants. But that's just me! The beauty of the sketch-off is, you can interpret the topic any way you want! For my studiomates' interpretations click here and here.